Analysis: Obama asserts himself as 21st century FDR

WASHINGTON – Reaching out to an anxious nation Tuesday night, President Barack Obama asserted himself as a 21st Century Franklin Roosevelt, whose fireside chats helped lift the spirits of the nation during the Great Depression.

A minute into his 52-minute prime-time address to a joint session of Congress, Obama spoke directly to those watching at home.

“If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend, a neighbor, a member of your family,” he said. “It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights…The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.”

With that, Obama set the theme of his speech and his vision. Like FDR, Obama used simple words to explain the bewildering array of economic problems facing the country. Like FDR, he called for widespread government intervention, and he championed the strength and will of the American people.

He explained how the people and their government are connected and will need to work together to solve the nation’s short- and long-term economic problems, and he offered reassurance that will happen.

“We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before,” he declared.

Obama has studied FDR’s first hundred days in office, so he probably has read Roosevelt’s assessment: “All our great presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified.”

If Obama becomes a great president, it will be because he succeeded in clarifying the role of government in a time of severe economic instability.

“My job – our job – is to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility,” he told the Congress.

Obama said he does not believe in bigger government but he also said, “I reject the view that our problems will simply take care of themselves; that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity.”

Citing the GI Bill that sent a generation to college, interstate highway construction and the moon mission, he said, “In each case, government didn’t supplant private enterprise; it catalyzed private enterprise. it created the conditions for thousands of entrepreneurs and new businesses to adapt and to thrive.”

And, responding to criticism about the bank bailout, Obama used a Frank Capra-esque riff on interconnectedness, reminiscent of George Bailey’s ties to his community through the savings and loan bank in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

”It’s not about helping banks – it’s about helping people. Because when credit is available again, that young family can finally buy a new home. And then some company will hire workers to build it. And then those workers will have money to spend, and if they can get a loan, too, maybe they’ll finally buy that car or open their own business. Investors will return to the market, and American families will see their retirement secured once more.

“Slowly, but surely, confidence will return, and our economy will recover,” Obama said.

As Roosevelt said at the end of his first fireside chat in March 1933, “Together we cannot fail.”